A STATION serving science and business parks in Cambridge has opened.
Cambridge North is operated by Greater Anglia, but Great Northern trains also call there, with both operators offering a total of six departures in a typical off-peak hour. Destinations include London Liverpool Street, London King’s Cross and Norwich, and there are also regular services to and from the main station serving central Cambridge. From 2019 trains on Greater Anglia’s new route between Norwich and Stansted Airport will also call.
The three-platform station includes a 1,000-space cycle park and a car park for 450 vehicles. It is also served by buses, including those on the Cambridge guided bus route.
Green technology has been used on the site, including solar panels providing up to ten per cent of the station’s power.
Greater Anglia managing director Jamie Burles said: “This is great news for Greater Anglia and for Cambridge. The existing station at Cambridge is one of our busiest stations. This station should relieve some of the pressure on it. It takes about 30 minutes to drive from Cambridge station to Cambridge North but just six minutes by train, so it should be a great boost to people commuting to work in the science park, or for people commuting from northern suburbs or villages.
“It’s a fantastic design, incorporating Cambridge’s innovative heritage, and one of the most environmentally-friendly stations on the network. Cambridge is a thriving city and this station will help to make rail travel even more attractive, as well as supporting the continued growth of the local economy.”
Bob Menzies, service director strategy and development for Cambridgeshire County Council, added: “We developed a design in partnership with Network Rail. We very much see it as an integrated transport hub.
“It had to function well as a railway station, be reasonably economical to build but also resonate with Cambridge. I think that it will come to be a bit of a landmark.”